Councils doing business as usual on election day

Most of the country may be focused on the federal election next Monday.

Not so much for the members of the various municipal councils holding regular meetings that night.

It’ll be business as usual at Oak Bay, said administrative clerk Loranne Hilton, who’s been with the municipality eight years.

“We’ve never cancelled for a federal election, because the polls are open all day,” she said.

Oak Bay’s committee of the whole, minus Mayor Christopher Causton, who is running as Liberal candidate in the Victoria riding, will meet for its regular bi-weekly meeting on May 2. On the agenda is the ongoing debate over whether to allow Runnymede Avenue heritage property Blair Gowie to be subdivided.

Saanich also has committee of the whole on Monday.

“We have a policy that a meeting stands unless it’s cancelled by a motion of council, and it’s too late now,” said Coun. Dean Murdock.

“We also haven’t met in two weeks, so there is a bit of business to do.”

If attendance at Monday night’s meeting in Esquimalt is low due to the federal election, issues requiring public input may be postponed to future meetings, said Mayor Barb Desjardins.

– files from Vivian Moreau, Kyle Slavin and Erin McCracken

editor@oakbaynews.com

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